The Providence of Jesus' Being Scourged and Shedding of His Blood
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June 12, 2016 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).
Jesus came to the world in flesh and took all kinds of sufferings on the earth. He finally opened the way for human salvation by showing His love on the cross. Today let's delve into the providence of Jesus' being scourged and shedding of His blood.
1. Jesus was flogged and shed His blood
Before the crucifixion, Jesus was flogged all over His body. He was wounded so gravely to a point that His bones were exposed beneath His skin.
When a well-trained soldier in the Roman army wielded a whip called a 'scourge', it wrapped around Jesus' body one and a half times and tore at His flesh. At the end of the whip were sharp, hook-like metal objects that pierced His flesh and when the soldier snatched the whip away, these sharp metal objects tore off pieces of the flesh with them.
Why did Jesus have to be subjected to such grueling suffering and the shedding of His blood by such flogging? The latter part of Isaiah 53:5 reads, "…and by His scourging we are healed." Jesus was flogged and He shed His blood in order to give us healing of a variety of diseases.
Jesus said to a paralytic in Matthew 9:2, "Take courage, My son, your sins are forgiven." We see that He took care of the problem of sin before healing the paralytic. In John 5:14 Jesus also told a man who had been sick, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." This reminds us that even if we may have repented and received God's forgiveness of our sins, if we return to the sinful way of life, we may come down with a disease that is far worse than before.
For the root of disease is sin and because the atonement of disease required the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22), Jesus set us free from all types of diseases by being scourged and shedding His blood.
2. We should believe Jesus' being flogged for us and say we believe it
1 Peter 2:24 says, "…for by His wounds you were healed." Thus, anyone who believes that Jesus has redeemed us from our diseases by being flogged and shedding His blood no longer needs to be tormented by any infirmities or illnesses (Matthew 8:17).
Some people say, "I sin sometimes because I am weak. It is difficult for man to live completely by God's Word." However, note that Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." When you confess in any conditions or situations, "I am strong and filled with the Spirit by the grace of God," according to your confession of faith, you will receive God's grace and strength, easily overcome fatigue, and transform the "impossible" into "possible."
In receiving prayer for healing, instead of confessing, "I believe I will be healed by the prayer," if you confess, "I believe that I've already been healed," God will do His work according to your confession of faith. Now, some may ask, "How can I say I've been healed when I still feel pain? Will I not be lying?" If they have correct knowledge of spiritual faith, they will be able to easily understand this.
As Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," faith is not in confessing of something only after witnessing it; it is the realization and conviction of things yet unseen as you hope for them by faith. Confessing with your lips, "I believe," when you do not believe from the heart will not bring about the realization of things for which you hope. Only when you confess with the faith by which you can believe, will things hoped for be realized.
If you believe from the heart and confess with your lips, "By the power of God, diseases and weaknesses have left my body," our Lord will do His work in accordance with your faith. If you are unable to believe or confess like this, diseases will not leave you because you still think, "I am still in pain. I haven't been healed." Without faith you can only be left in pain and suffering. Due to such negative thoughts, you will not be able to experience God's work.
3. Some say "I believe" but still are unable to receive healing
If people continue to suffer from sickness, even though they say they believe Jesus was scourged and through the scourging He redeemed them from their diseases, it is because they have not lived by the righteousness of God.
Exodus 15:26 says, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."
In spiritual terms, "Egypt" here refers to the world in which we live and "the Ten Plagues" that befell Egypt refers to all diseases that exist in this world. If we keep and live by God's commandments, we will not become subject to any kind of diseases. Even if we fall ill, once we repent and turn from our ways, God will heal us.
Yet, you have to be righteous not in your own sight, but in God's sight. Human righteousness differs from person to person because the living circumstances and values under which people have seen, heard, and learned as they were growing up are different. One person may deem that his behavior is "righteous" but another person may feel it is "unrighteous."
Things are truly righteous only when God deems them "righteous", and the only criteria are the Word of God who is the truth itself. For instance, when their child comes home crying after getting beaten up, the parents become upset and try to have a word with the other children's parents. The righteousness of God, however, tells us, "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also," "Seek peace," and "Love even your enemy." You may feel you are sustaining losses in following God's righteousness, but in the end God will recognize and raise you up.
Some may wonder, "How can I possibly keep all of God's commandments?" But keeping and living by God's commandments is not a difficult task. If you believe and live your life always reminding yourself, "The Holy Spirit always helps me and because God gives me grace and strength, I can do it easily," then it becomes easier. If you love God and fix your eyes on Heaven's glory and rewards, keeping God's commandments is not a difficult task.
If you are thinking, 'I have so many sins to throw away and it will take me ages to throw all of them out!' try making a list of the sins with which you have the most difficulty throwing out. This is the same as once the biggest roots are pulled out from the ground, the smaller roots also are easily pulled out. When people come out from the darkness and begin walking in Light, the wall of sin standing in their way to God will be destroyed. The faith by which they can believe will descend upon them and they will be able to experience the works of God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as He was flogged and shed His blood, Jesus redeemed us from all our diseases and infirmities. Since you met this Lord the Healer, I hope you will be healed of all your diseases completely and keep God's commandments diligently.
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